Mechanism for automatically adjusting knitting machines to knit stockings of different sizes



May 8, 1956 M. H. BOYER 2,744,400

MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTING KNITTING MACHINES TO KNIT STOCKINGS OF DIFFERENT SIZES Filed Dec. 9, 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. MORE/5 h. BOYER 4 BYMWM ATTORNEY.

May 8, 1956 M. H. BOYER 2,

MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTING KNITTING MACHINES TO KNIT STOCKINGS OF DIFFERENT SIZES Filed Dec. 9, 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 I l/O A I/\ 70, F I w .125 80 7/ INVENTOR.

M P H. BOYEA? ATTORNEY.

May 8, 1956 M. H. BOYER 2,744,400

MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTING KNITTING MACHINES I TO KNIT STOCKINGS OF DIFFERENT SIZES Filed Dec. 9, 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VENT OR.

MOAP/S H BOYE/P ATTORNEY.

May 8, 1956 BOYER 2,744,400

MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTING KNITTING MACHINES TO KNIT STOCKINGS OF DIFFERENT SIZES Filed Dec. 9, 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 FOOT SIZE STOPS FoR TH/S CHA/N .Y/ZE MARK/N6 LEG SIZE INVENTOR. MORE/5 A. BOYEA ATTORNEY.

M. H. BOYER 2,744,400 FOR AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTING KNITTING MACHINES May 8, 1956 MECHANISM Filed Dec. 9, 1952 TO KNIT STOCKINGS OF DIFFERENT SIZES 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.

MORE/5 H BUYER BY ATTORNEY.

May 8, 1956 M. H. BOYER 2,744,400

MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTING KNITTING MACHINES TO KNIT STOCKINGS OF DIFFERENT SIZES Filed Dec. 9, 1952 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR. MORE/5 BOYE/E' ATTORNEY.

M. H. BOYER AL-LY ADJUSTING KNIT May 8. 1956 2,744,400 TING MACHINES MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATIC TO KNIT STOCKINGS OF DIFFERENT SIZES 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Dec. 9, 1952 y 1956 M. H. BOYER 2,744,400

MECHANISM FOR AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTING KNITTING MACHINES TO KNIT STOCKINGS OF DIFFERENT SIZES 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed Dec. 9, 1952 INVENTOR.

/70/2A/S h! BUYER 8 BY 77% ATTORNEY.

United States Patent MECHANISM FOR AUTGli HATICALLY ADJUSTING KNITTENG MACHINES T0 KNIT STOCKINGS OF DIFFERENT SIZES Morris H. Boyer, Boyertown, Pa., assignor to Danita Hosiery Manufacturing Co., Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application December 9, 1952, Serial No. 324,97 0

8 Claims. (Cl. 66155) A full fashioned stocking knitting machine includes, among other things, an endless pattern chain which carries suitably arranged control buttons which predetermine the size of the stocking, and by changing the arrangement of the control buttons on the pattern chain, the size of the stocking is correspondingly changed.

The pattern chain of a knitting machine is quite long and the disposition or arrangement of the control buttons on the chain is a complex and exacting operation. Also, modern knitting machines may have as many as thirty sections. Stopping a thirty section machine while a highly paid expert re-arranges the stocking size control buttons so as to change the size of the stocking to be knit represents a considerable expense in lost production while the machine is idle and in money paid for changing the arrangement of the buttons on the pattern chain.

It is therefore the main object of the invention to produce a new control mechanism which is adapted to be superimposed on, and to cooperate with, the usual control, so as to make it possible to change the size of a stocking being knit by the mere movement, instantaneously, and without any skill, of a single lever or arm from one position to another.

A further object of the invention is to produce a control mechanism which will be compact and which can be applied to a conventional knitting machine with minimum expense and labor and with very little change of the control mechanism proper of the knitting machine.

In the following description the conventional pattern chain and other coacting parts and the size controlling mechanism itself, are all referred to as main and the corresponding parts of my control mechanism are referred to as auxiliary.

With that in mind my auxiliary stocking size changing mechanism includes an auxiliary endless pattern chain having a plurality of series of auxiliary control buttons, an auxiliary sprocket for engaging and propelling said chain, said auxiliary sprocket having a plurality of grooves for receiving said plurality of series of buttons, a singlelever or feeler which is adapted to be moved so as to be selectively engaged and actuated by one button,'0r another of one series of buttons or another which happens to pass in the particular groove of said sprocket over which the lever has been positioned and means operatively connecting said single lever, and its adjuncts to the main control mechanism of the knitting machine.

The nature of the invention will be better understood from the following specification and the accompanying drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of the auxiliary control mechanism embodying my invention the part of the mechanism near the top of Fig. 2 being the front of the mechanism or nearest to where the operator of the knitting machine stands.

Fig. 2 is a front view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a right hand elevational view of Fig. 1.

- Fig. 4 is a left hand elevational view of Fig. 1

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of Fig. 1.

Patented May 8, 1.956

Fig. 6 is a rear elevational view of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the auxiliary pattern chain forming part of the auxiliary control mechanism of my invention.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary, enlarged view, partly in section and partly in elevation of the chain shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a reduced, fragmentary, front elevational view showing my auxiliary control mechanism (on the right) the main, conventional, control mechanism (on the left) and the means for operatively connecting the two control mechanisms.

Fig. 10 is a top plan view of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a sectional view'on line 11-11 on Fig. 9.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of some of the parts shown at the left hand end of Figs. 9 and 10.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary view, partly in section and partly in elevation, showing details of construction of the counter ratchet which forms part of the auxiliary control mechanism, the view being taken on line 13-13 on Fig. l. I

Fig. 14 is an enlargement of the bracketed portion of i Fig. 4.

Fig. 15 is an enlargement of some of the parts shown at the left of Fig. 9.

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary, enlarged perspective view of the left hand end portion of Fig. 9 showing parts which are not shown in Figs. 9 and 12 and which are not clearly discernible in Fig. 10.

Fig. 17 is an enlarged perspective view of some of the operating parts of the auxiliary control of my invention.

In the drawings I have shown only such parts of a conventional Lieberknecht full fashioned stocking knitting machine as are indispensible for a proper understanding of the auxiliary control device of my invention and its op-, eration.

Figs. 9, 10, 12 and 16 A Lieberknecht full fashioned knitting machine includes a frame 20, only part of which is shown, and which supports the various parts of the machine including the usual cam shaft 21 which is rotated by suitable means, not shown, and which carries a cam 22 (Fig. 9). The cam 22 is adapted to actuate a roller 24 carried by the upright arm 26 of a bell crank lever L, the roller being biased into engagement with the cam by a spring, not shown, which engages the arm 26 and the frame 20 of the knitting machine. The lever L is pivoted on a stub shaft 28 which is also carried by the frame 20 and the horizontal arm 30 of lever L carries a pawl'32 (Fig. 9) which is adapted to engage a ratchet, not shown, on shaft 34 which also car ries sprocket 36 (Fig. 15) to turn the sprocket 36 step by step or one notch at a time. The ratchet which turns shaft 34 and sprocket 36 is similar to the ratchet shown in Fig. 13. The sprocket 36 is adapted to engage and propel the main pattern chain 38 of the knitting machine and it is provided with a number of grooves 40 for receiving the difierent series of buttons 42 carried by chain 38. The main sprocket 36 is similar to which is shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The pattern chain 38 runs over guide rolls 39 carried by the lower frame of the machine and over one or more guide rolls disposed as far above guide rolls 39 as is necessary to accommodate the length of the chain.

The stub shaft 34, through the medium of brackets 44, Fig. 16, carries another stub shaft 46 which is disposed above, and transversely of, the main sprocket 36 and main pattern chain 38. The shaft 46 pivotally supports a plurality of bell crank levers L-1 (Fig. 16) the horizontal arms 50 of which overlie the grooves 4% in main sprocket 36 so as to be selectively and successively raised by the different main control buttons 42 on the main pattern chain 38. The vertical arms 51 of these bell crank levers are connected to operating rods 52, only two of which are shown in Fig. 16. When one or another of the horizontal arms 50 of the bell crank levers on shaft 46 is raised by a main control button 42 on the main pattern chain 38, as shown at A in Fig. 16, the vertical arm 51 of said lever moves in clockwise direction and actuates its corresponding rod 52 to control the operation of the knitting machines, in the well known manner. Seven of the bell crank levers on shaft 46 form part of the conventional knitting. The end, or eighth lever 57 which is formed of arms 56 and 53, is added so as to cooperate with my auxiliary control mechanism and is to be considered as part of my invention.

Figs. 1 t 6, Figs. 14, and 17 As will be seen from these figures the auxiliary control mechanism includes an auxiliary sprocket 79 which is adapted to engage and propel the auxiliary pattern chain 72 which moves endlessly over rolls 73 and which is best shown in Figs. 7 and 9. The sprocket 79 has a number of grooves therein sufiicient to accommodate the corre sponding rows of control buttons carried by auxiliary pattern chain 72. In order to produce and mark stockings of sizes 8 /2, 9, 9 /2, 10, 10 /2 and 11, only seven rows of buttons corresponding to seven stations or settings are needed and the sprocket 70 need only have seven grooves. The sprocket shown in Figs. 1 to 6 has a larger number of grooves only because, for economy, i elected to use a standard sprocket instead of having a special one made. For the purpose of this invention, 1 have designated the rows of buttons as A, B, C, D, E, F, and H, and I have .atcd the corresponding rooves on sprocket 70 as A1, 81, C1, D1, E1, F1, and H1.

Row A has only three buttons 140, 148 and 156 which have been called stop buttons. These serve to stop movement of the auxiliary pattern chain 72 while the bulk of the stocking is being knit. Stop buttons 148, 148 and 159 of row A merely enable me to make the auxiliary pattern 72 chain live or six feet long instead of having to make it as long as the main pattern chain 33 which is about thirty feet long. This function of these stop buttons of row A will he better understood when the operation of my auxi liary control as a whole is described. Row B has only one size marking control button which serves, in the manner hereinafter explained, to mark a size 8 /2 stocking by spacing one of the narrowing marks on the leg of the stocking from the next adjacent marking according to the code accepted by the industry. The remaining rows have two series of control buttons each, one for determining the size of the leg of the stocking and one for determining the size of the foot. Between the log and foot size control buttons, each row of buttons also has a stocking size marking control button, all as illustrated in Fig. 7.

Sprocket 70 is rotated, step by step by means of a cam 22A which is similar to cam 22 and is carried by main cam shaft 2!. The cam 22A is adapted to be engaged by roller 24A which is carried by the vertical arm 26A of hell crank lever LA pivoted on stub shaft 28A (Fig. 17) and having a horizontal arm 30A. The roller 24A is biased into engagement with cam 22A by means of a spring 31 which is connected to vertical arm A and to a part 23 of the frame 20 of the knitting machine (Fig. ll).

Sprocket 71! is carried by a stub shaft 74 which also carries ratchet 76 and ratchet 73. Ratchet 76 carries plate .89 which has high and low surfaces and which is known in the trade as a curved cam plate. See Figs. 13 and 17.

The arm A of lever LA, at its front end, carries an eye bolt 82 which carries casting 84 to one side of which is pivoted a. pawl 86, which is adapted to engage ratchet 78, and to the other side of which is pivoted pawl 38 which is adapted to engage ratchet 76. Pawls S6 and 88 are movable about their pivots independently of each other and are biased into engagement with their respective ratchets by individual springs 89 which engage the pawls and casting 84 (Figs. 1 and 2). One or the other of these springs has been shown in some of the other figures but they have been omitted from Fig. 17 for clarity of illustration. The function of pawls 36 and 88 is to engage ratchets 78 and 76 to rotate sprocket 70 in the manner later on described.

The stub shaft 23A is carried by a casting 90 which supports the auxiliary control mechanism and which is attached to the frame 20 of the machine. See Figs. 1 and 17. The casting 96 also supports a stub shaft 92 on which is pivoted lever 93, one arm 94- of which carries cross arm 95 which overlies sprocket 70. Stub shaft 92 has an extension on which is pivoted a selector arm 95. This extension of shaft 92 is notched as at 97 so as to provide stations for selector arm 96. It will be noted that notches 97 correspond to the grooves in sprocket 70. See Fig. 4.

The other arm 98 of lever 93 extends downwardly and is pivotally connected, as at 99, to one end of operating red 3% (Fig. 6). As will be seen from Figs. 9 and 12, operating rod 100 is connected at its other end to the lower end 162 of a lever 104 the upper end 105 of which is notched as at 106. The notch 106 is adapted to engage horizontal arm 39 of lever L. Therefore, if rod 100 is moved in the direction of the arrow, or to the right, in Figs. 9 and 12, lever 104 will pivot in counterclockwise direction and will engage and move arm 30 to the left in Fig. 9 so as to disengage pawl 32 from sprocket 36 and stop the movement of the main pattern chain 38. l t will be noted that rod liltl is normally biased in the opposite direction, or to the left as viewed in Figs. 9 and 12, so as to maintain lever 104 out of engagement with arm 30 of lever L except under the conditions hereinafter outlined.

Pawl 86 has pin 110 which is adapted to overlie groove Al in sprocket 70, and has pin 112 which is adapted to overlie the edge of curved plate 30, as shown in Figs. 4 and 12. Pawl 88 has a pin 114 which is adapted to overlie a raised cam 115 formed on arm 98 of lever 93.

The casting 34 has a bottom extension 116 to which is pivoted a pawl 118 which is normally biased into engagement, with ratchet 73 by a spring 119 (Figs. 4 and 5). Eawl 118 carries pin 129 which is adapted to be engaged by the lower end 122 of a lever 123 which pivoted to casting 9% as at 124 and the upper end 126 of which is adapted to be engaged by pin 12d carried by lug 129 at one end of a rod 13!}. The other end of rod 130 is connected, through curved arm 132, to vertical arm 58 of the bell crank l ver 57 on shaft 34. See Figs. 9, 10 and 17. Lever 123 is normally biased by spring 136 (Figs. 9 and ll) so as to rotate about pivot 124 in counterclockwise as shown in Fig. 17 and it thus normally keeps pawl 118 out of engagement with ratchet '78. Rod 13'.) is normally biased to the left as viewed in Fig. 9 by a spring 138 so normally to keep pin 12.8 out of engagement with upper arm 126 of lever 123.

Knitting size 8 /2 stocking The operation is as follows:

The control buttons 42 are arranged on main pattern chain 38 so as to cause the machine to knit size 8 stocking and the main pattern chain and the auxiliary pattern chain 72 are so aligned that, at the start of the knitting operation, stop 140 in row A on auxiliary pattern chain 72 is in groove A1 of the sprocket 70 and below pin 11!) of pawl 86. In this position it will raise pawl 86 out of engagement with ratchet 78. Since pawl 118 is now out of engagement with ratchet 78, and since pin 114 of pawl 88 is riding hump 115 of arm 98 of lever 93 so that pawl 88 is also out of engagement with ratchet 76, reciprocation of lever LA through roller 24A and cam 22A will not rotate sprocket 70. This means that my auxiliary control mechanism is inactive and therefore the operation of the knitting machine will not be in any way affected by my auxiliary control mechanism and it will proceed to knit 8 /2 size stockings.

However, in order to mark a size 3 /2 stocking according to accepted code, I have provided one size marking control button in row B on the auxiliary pattern chain, it being understood that when a size 8 /2 stocking is being knit selector 96 will overlie groove B1 soas to be actuated by this particular size marking button. By this arrangement, the main pattern chain 38 will move over sprocket 36 until a specially located auxiliary control button, such as button 146, passes under the horizontal arm 56 of the lever 57 on shaft 46 (Fig. 16). The passage of button 146 under arm 56, pivots arm 58 in clockwise direction. in Figs. 9 and 16, moves rod 130 to the right in these figures, and pivots lever 123 in clockwise direction about pivot 124 to move arm 122 out of the way of pin 12% and thus permit pawl 113 to engage ratchet 78. This causes sprocket 70 to move and its movement through one notch is enough to take stop 140 from underneath pin 110 and thus allows pawl 86 to engage ratchet 78 and propel sprocket 70. Thus pawl 118 serves to start operation of the auxiliary control mechanism and will be so designated hereinafter.

Also, the auxiliary control buttons, only one of which is shown at 1% in Fig. 16, will hereinafter'be referred to as starting buttons. During all this time pin 114 is on hump 115, Fig. 17, and pawl 88 is out of engagement with ratchet '76. The rotation of the sprocket 70 causes the auxiliary pattern chain 72 to move distance x--'-x on Fig. 7, or enough to cover the span of the longest row of leg size auxiliary control buttons. At this point stop 148 comes under pin 110 and again rotation of sprocket 70 is arrested. This goes on until another starting button 146 again moves rod 13b to the right, in Fig. 9, to cause starting pawl 118 to engage ratchet 7S and turn it enough to move stop 14% and from under pin 119. However, since selector arm 96 is located over groove B1, size 8 /2 marking control button will eventuallypass under the selector arm and will cause lever 93 to turn in counterclockwise directionin Figs. 9 and 17. This does two things. First, it pulls rod 190 to the right to stop movement of the main pattern chain 38 in the manner above set forth. Second, it moves hump 115 of arm 98 of lever 93 out of the way of pin 11d and thus permits pawl 88 to rotate ratchet 76 and curved plate 80. Rotation of curved plate 80 causes pin 112 to ride on a high portion of the curved plate and thus raises pawl $6 out of engagement with ratchet 78. This means that sprocket 70 will not move and that size 8 /2 marking button will remain under selector lever 96 until pin 112 drops from a high to a low portion on the edge of curved plate 80 again to permit pawl 86 to engage the ratchet 78 so as to resume rotation of sprocket 70- and thus move size 8 /2 marking button from under selector arm 96. When this is done, lever 93 will move in clockwise direction so as to disengage lever 104 from lever L and permit further rotation of main sprocket 36 and further movement of main pattern chain During the time that the main pattern chain was stopped the knitting machine continued to knit plain courses. Therefore, and since, size 8 /2 marking button came under selector arm 96 while the machine was putting narrowing marks in the leg of the stocking, the knitting machine continued to knit plain courses but it stopped making narrow marks. This means that the next narrowing mark which is made after the marking button has moved out from under selector arm 96 will be spaced from the last narrowing mark by a number of plain courses, usually six in number. It will be understood that the number of plain courses between two narrowing marks will vary according to the, length of time pawl 86 is out of engagement with ratchet '78 due to engagement of pin 112 with a high portion on the edge of curved plate 86 The spacing of the last narrowing mark from the last but one indicates size 8 /2, while the spacing of the last but one narrowing mark from the one before it indicates size 9 and so on. This is according to the code accepted by the industry. Hence, the size marking control buttons are staggered as shown in Fig. 7.

Since the operation is the same for all size marking control buttons, it is deemed unnecessary to describe the operation of each one of them separately.

To increase the length of the foot, or of the leg, of a stocking so as to make a size 9 or size 9 /2 etc. I provide the auxiliary pattern chain 72 with leg size and foot size control buttons arranged in separate additional rows C, D, E, F, and H. Since the operation of all of the rows of buttons is the same it will only be necessary to describe the operation of any one of said rows of control buttons.

Thus, to make size 10 stocking, selector lever 96 is moved so as to register with groove E1 so as to be acted on successively, by the leg size control buttons, the size marking control button, and the foot size control buttons from row E on the auxiliary pattern chain 38.

Knitting a stocking larger than size 8 /2 Keeping in mind that main pattern chain 38, if not interfered with, will automatically produce a size 8 /2 stocking, and assuming that it is desired to knit a size 10, and assuming that stop 140 is under pin 11% at the start of the knitting operation, and that selector arm 96 is over groove E1, the following is the sequence of operations:

The auxiliary control mechanism being inactive, the knitting machine will form the welt and the shadow welt and will proceed to knit the leg. At some point along the leg, a starting button on main chain 38, such as button 146, will actuate lever 57, starting rod 130 and lever 123, to cause starting pawl 118 to engage a ratchet '78 and propel it far enough to move stop 14-0 out from under pin 110. Pawl 86 now takes over and rotates sprocket 70. This brings leg size control buttons of row E on auixilary pattern chain under selector arm and causes the selector arm to move the lower arm 98 of lever 93 in counterclockwise direction. As above stated, this pulls rod 100 to the right and disengages pawl 32 from main sprocket 36 and stops movement of main pattern chain 38, until all the leg size control buttons in row E have passed under the selector arm. Since the machine, left alone, will continue to knit plain course and will only change its operation under the influence of the control buttons on the main pattern chain, it follows that the passage of the leg size control buttons of row E under the selector arm arrests the movement of the main pattern chain 38 for a predetermined length of time during which the machine will add thatmany plain courses to the leg of the stocking. After the last leg size control button has passed from under selector arm 96, the main pattern chain resumes its normal movement and at about this time stop 148 comes under pin and the auxiliary control mechanism is rendered inactive until another starting button 1 46 again reactivates the auxiliary control mechanism. This takes place just before, or early in, the leg narrowing operation. Resumed movement of the auxiliary pattern chain brings size marking button under the selector lever 96 and spaces the corresponding narrowing mark from the one before it in the manner set forth in connection with size 8 /2 marking button. Stop of row A next comes under pin 110 and again disables the auxiliary control mechanism until still the next starting button 146 on main chain 38 reactivates the auxiliary control mechanism. This takes place sometime before or early during the knitting of the foot so as to permit the foot size buttons of row E to pass under the selector arm 96 and stop the movement of the main pattern chain while the machine continues to add courses to the foot.

Without the stops 140, 148 and 150, it would be necessary to provide lengths of chain 72 from which all buttons are omitted, to correspond to the portions of the main chain which are responsible for knitting the portions of the stocking in connection with which the are tivity of the auxiliary control mechanism is not needed. The main pattern chain is at the end of the machine and it is not a serious matter if the chain extends all the way 7 to the ceiling. My auxiliary control mechanism is placed directly below the knitting head and it is impractical, if not impossible, to use an auxiliary pattern chain as long as, or even much shorter than, the main pattern chain. The stop buttons 140, 148 and 150 are therefore important adjuncts of the auxiliary control mechanism.

If it is desired completely to deactivate the auxiliary control mechanism, selector arm 96 is moved into registration with groove K (Fig. over which the auxiliary chain need not pass. In this case starting buttons 146 will be removed from the main pattern chain 38 and stop 140 will maintain the auxiliary control mechanism inactive.

What I claim is:

1. An auxiliary control mechanism for controlling the operation of a full fashioned stocking knitting machine of the type which includes a main pattern chain, main control buttons carried by said main pattern chain, operating levers located in the path of movement of, and adapted to be actuated by, said buttons, driving means for propelling said chain to bring said buttons into engagement with said levers, and means operatively connecting said operating levers to corresponding operating parts of the knitting machine, said auxiliary control mechanism including an auxiliary pattern chain, propelling means for moving said auxiliary pattern chain, auxiliary control buttons on said auxiliary pattern chain, a single selector arm adapted to be selectively located in the path of, and to be engaged and moved by said auxiliary control buttons, propelling means for moving said auxiliary pattern chain to bring said auxiliary control buttons into engagement with said selector arm, and actuating means operatively connecting said selector arm and the driving means of said main pattern chain, said actuating means being operable by movement of said selector arm to ar- 0 rest the movement of said main pattern chain during engagement of said selector arm by said auxiliary control buttons.

2. The structure recited in claim 1 and stop means for normally preventing the operation of said auxiliary control mechanism said stop means including stop buttons on said auxiliary pattern chain adapted to engage and move said auxiliary selector arm to a predetermined position, and means operable by movement of said selector arm to said position to render said propelling means inoperative to move said auxiliary pattern chain.

3. The structure recited in claim 2 in which the propelling means of the auxiliary pattern chain includes a sprocket which is en aged by said chain, and at least one pawl adapted to engage and propel said sprocket, and in which said stop means includes a plurality of spaced, longitudinally aligned auxiliary control buttons carried by said auxiliary pattern chain and so located on said chain as to successively engage said pawl and disengage it from said sprocket.

4. The structure recited in claim 1 in which the auxiliary control buttons on said auxiliary pattern chain include at least one series of buttons which engage the selector arm and arrest the movement of the main pattern chain during the knitting of the leg of a stocking to lengthen the same, and another series of buttons which engage the selector arm and arrest the movement of the main pattern chain during the knitting of the foot of the stocking to lengthen the same, said series of buttons being longitudinally aligned on the auxiliary pattern chain so as to successively engage said selector arm.

5. The structure recited in claim 4 and an auxiliary control button located on said pattern chain between, and in alignment with, said series of auxiliary control buttons for engaging said selector arm and arresting the movement of the main pattern chain during the narrowing of the leg of the stocking to increase the distance between one of the narowing marks and at least one of the adjacent narrowing marks on the leg of the stocking as H compared with the distances between the remaining narrowing marks.

6. An auxiliary control mechanism for a full fashioned knitting machine of the type which includes a main pattern chain, main control buttons carried by said main pattern chain, operating levers located in the path of movement of and adapted to be actuated by said main control buttons, driving means for propelling said chain, and means operatively connecting said operating levers to corresponding parts of the knitting machine said auxiliary mechanism including a sprocket having a plurality of circumferential grooves therein, an endless auxiliary pattern chain carried by said sprocket, driving means for propelling said sprocket, a plurality of control buttons carried by said chain and movable in said grooves, a support disposed transversely of the path of movement of said auxiliary chain, a selector arm pivotally mounted on said support and selectively movable into the path of movement of said buttons in said grooves so as to be engaged and moved by said buttons as they move past said selector arm, and actuating means operatively connected to the main control mechanism of the knitting ma chine and to said selector arm and movable by movement of said selector arm to arrest the operation of the main control mechanism of the knitting machine during the engagement of any of said auxiliary control buttons with said selector arm.

7. An auxiliary control mechanism for a full fashioned stocking knitting machine of the type which includes a main pattern chain, main control buttons carried by said main pattern chain, operating levers located in the path of movement of and adapted to be actuated by said main control buttons, driving means for propelling said chain, and means operatively connecting said operating levers to corresponding parts of the knitting machine, said auxiliary mechanism includinw a sprocket having a plurality of circumferential grooves therein, an endless auxiliary pattern chain carried by said sprocket, a plurality of auxiliary control buttons carried by said chain in alignment with said grooves, a ratchet carried by said sprocket, a first pawl normally engaging said ratchet, a second pawl adapted to engage said ratchet, actuating means for continuously reciprocating said pawls, stop means normally engaging said second pawl and holding it out of engagement with said ratchet, whereby said sprocket is rotated by said first pawl only, a finger carried by said first pawl and adapted to be engaged by a button passing in one of said grooves for lifting said first pawl out of engagement with said first ratchet to stop the rotation of said sprocket, and release means connected to said stop means and operable by the main control mechanism of the knitting machine for temporarily disengaging said stop means from said second pawl whereby said sprocket is rotated by said second pawl to move said button out of engagement with said finger and permit re-engagement of said first pawl with said ratchet.

8. An auxiliary control mechanism for a full fashioned stocking knitting machine, said mechanism including a sprocket having a plurality of circumferential grooves therein, an endless auxiliary pattern chain carried by said sprocket, a plurality of auxiliary control buttons carried by said chain in alignment with said grooves, a first ratchet, carried by said sprocket, a first pawl normally engaging said first ratchet to rotate said sprocket, a second ratchet movable independently of said sprocket, a second pawl movable independently of said first pawl and adapted to engage said second ratchet, driving means for continuously reciprocating both of said pawls, stop means for normally biasing said second pawl out of engagement with said second ratchet, a selector arm located in the path of, and adapted to be engaged and moved, by at least one of said control buttons, a lever operatively connecting said stop means and said selector arm and operative, upon movement of said selector arm by one of said buttons, to disengage said stop means from said second pawl whereby said second'pawl engages and" rotates said second ratchet, a cam movable with said second ratchet and having a low portion and a high portion, and a finger carried by saidfirst pawl and adapted to be engaged by the high .portion of said cam to disengage said first pawl fromsaid first ratchet and stop rotation of said sprocket and the movement of said'pattern chain during the engagement of said finger with the high portion of said cam.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

